a day / 320 miles / 10 hours 40 minutes
Discover the dramatic vistas of "Old Man River," from its limestone bluffs in the north to sandy floodplains in the south. Enjoy the hospitality of river townspeople. Visit Iowa's 11 interpretive centers from Effigy Mounds National Monument in the north to George M. Verity Riverboat Museum in Keokuk.
Day 1
9:00 - 46.6 miles / an hour 33 minutes - 10:33
Effigy Mounds National Monument
Prehistoric mounds are common from the plains of the Midwest to the Atlantic seaboard, but only in this area were they constructed in an effigy outline of mammals, birds, or reptiles. The monument contains 1,481 acres with 200 mounds, of which 29 are effigies; the others are conical, linear and compound. Eastern Woodland Indian culture built these mounds from about 500 BC to 1300 AD. Natural features in the monument include forests, tallgrass prairies, wetlands and rivers.
10:33 - 273.7 miles / 9 hours 7 minutes - 19:40